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Secrets of the Hood

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Fri, 2010-03-05 11:03 — KilgoreTrout

The very first sweater I ever knit was a hoody. The hood wasn't bad, but it always hung incorrectly, even though it seemed like it was big enough. Fast forward to now, trying to knit a hood yet again.....only this time the trick became clear! Because the front neck-line usually drops down a few inches, the hood will knit up crooked instead of straight up. A few inches of short row shaping totally do the trick! This brings up the fabric above the front neck-line a couple of inches, making it level with the back neck-line. From there on you can knit straight up, no funky hood! Short row shaping, you are my hero!

Comments

Sat, 2010-03-06 19:16 — craftybiker
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Techknitting has a great

Techknitting has a great post on different short row techniques. The first time I tried short rows on a sweater I ended up with some holes that seemed horrible, although I cannot seem to find them now. But the techniques from the post above help to minimize the hole issue.

Sat, 2010-03-06 00:51 — Chris Vandenburg
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Nathan, Isn't it a

Nathan,

Isn't it a wonderful thing when the heavens open up and it finally dawns on you that, "OH, I get it! And that's all there is to it?".

I have a hoody in my thoughts for the future and I have jotted down your suggestions so that when I fianlly get to it .... I can blame you!!! No, that they will be helpful in the shaping.

Thanks for the info,

Chris

Sat, 2010-03-06 01:42 — KilgoreTrout
KilgoreTrout's picture

I'm glad I could help! A

I'm glad I could help! A couple other suggestions would be some shaping at the top/back of the head, and three needle bind off to finish....

Fri, 2010-03-05 14:44 — Joe-in Wyoming
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Good points. The last hood

Good points. The last hood I knit was on a modular neckline and didn't need shaping. Even so, I reknit the dear thing 2 - 3 times until I got a result I was pleased with. -- Books, knitting, cats, fountain pens...Life is Good.

Fri, 2010-03-05 13:01 — MMario
MMario's picture

short row shaping is exactly

short row shaping is exactly what happens when you forget which direction you are knitting - you double back on a portion of the row.

Fri, 2010-03-05 12:18 — scottly
scottly's picture

Short row shaping is still

Short row shaping is still one of those things I need to figure out and it looks like I'll have to for the boxer KAL. Clever craftsmenship though to use it on the hoodie.